Blame it all on the Moon
by Slayer-Enfiniti
Summary: 3 parter: Kenshin has a nightmare and needs to relax. Will he find relaxation in Izu with his friends, or chaos? Rating is for some innuendo in ch. 2 COMPLETE!
1. Prologue: Amidst the blood

Blame it all on the moon

A Fanfic by Slayer Infiniti

Prologue: Amidst the Nightmare

_Blood. There was blood everywhere. It was on his hands, his sword, his clothes… He runs to the river, frantically scrubbing at the scarlet stains, watching with fascination the blood tint the river._

_"Blood is corrosive, Battousai, it taints all that it touches, and some times the stains never come out."_

_Oh, Shakku, you were right, he thought as he looked down at his hands. The stains won't come out now…_

Lightning flashes. Thunder roars.

"Kenshin!"

Kenshin woke to see the worried face of Kamiya Kaoru, who was leaning intently over him, inches away.

"Uh, What? K- Kaoru-dono?" Kaoru sighed with relief.

"You were having a nightmare, Kenshin. You kept rubbing your hands together and muttering. Are you alright?" Worry flashed through her eyes, an echo of the lightning outside.

_Give her the rurouni smile, dolt, she's worried! _He smiled his wide, charming smile to the face so close to his, stumbling to his feet.

"Ah, y- yes, sessha is fine. Sessha was just having a nightmare, that I was." _Idiot! She just said that! Are you trying to be stupid? _His mind screamed at him. Still, she didn't look worried anymore. Not that she was easy to read, other than anger. Anger he could see. And feel, if she had a bokken handy. _I could read Soujiro better than her. Women. Why do they have to be so darn mysterious? _He smiled with more sincerity as Kaoru turned her head away and yawned.

"Must be the full moon."

"Oro?"

"The full moon. Westerners say that the full moon can cause people to act strange." She turned back to him and smiled at him.

_Oh, man, she's cute. _He thought for the umpteenth time.

"We're going to Izu today, remember? We'll find some good hot springs and relax. How's that sound?"

_Hot springs, huh? Hmm… No, no. Knock it off, Rurouni, she didn't mean it that way!_

"Uh, yeah, sounds real good, Kaoru-dono, that it does." She looked a little closer at him.

"Are you sure you're ok, Kenshin? Your cheeks are red; do you want me to get Megumi?"

"No, no, sessha's fine Kaoru-dono, that I am."

"Okay, breakfast in an hour?"

"Alright, Kaoru-dono." She left. He plopped back down with a sigh, sword resting on his shoulder.

"Kenshin, you baka. We should change your name. Hi, I'm not Rurouni Kenshin anymore, I'm Rurouni Baka. Man, I sure blew that one." He sighed again.

"I agree." Kenshin yelped and pivoted, hand going to his sword. Sanosuke slid the door shut behind him.

"No offense, bud, but that was just awful."

"And here comes Sano, ready to salvage a rurouni's wounded pride." Up came the rurouni smile.

"Tch. Like you need it, Kenshin. You…" Kenshin stared down at his maroon socks, a truly pitiful look on his face. Sano changed tactics.

"You didn't do so bad. At least you didn't trip, or faint, or, or…"

"Giving me ideas for the next episode of Rurouni Baka? Thanks, but sessha thinks someone needs to make sure Kaoru-dono doesn't blow up the kitchen…"

BOOM.

"…Or help her clean it up." He amended. And with that he stood, placed his sword in its place, and strolled to the kitchen.

A little angsty, but it gets funnier, I promise! This is a three-parter, so stay tuned! Chapter 2: Amidst the bubbles will be coming soon.


	2. Chapter 1: Amidst the bubbles

Blame it all on the moon

Chapter 1: Amidst the Bubbles

"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Kaoru sighed, leaning over the rail for a better view.

"Ugh." Yahiko sighed, leaning over the rail for a different reason. Kenshin laughed, finally relaxing.

_Maybe this trip is what I need after all, _he thought.

The Kenshin group was on a boat, with Izu in sight. Literally.

"It's so green! I didn't remember it being so green, did you, Kenshin?"

Kenshin snapped out of his reverie.

"Oro?" Kaoru laughed.

"Goodness, you must have a lot on your mind, Kenshin. You looked like Aoshi for a while there."

"Oh, uh, sorry, Kaoru-dono, sessha, sessha agrees. It's very green." _Augh! Rurouni Baka strikes again!_ Behind him, he heard Sano snicker. Placing a well-aimed kick at Sano's shin, he continued.

"It'll be nice to relax in the hot springs, that it will.

A short while later, Kaoru slipped into the warm, soothing water of one of Izu's famous hot spring resorts. Kenshin wasn't the only one with a lot to think about.

_Kenshin, you idiot. What is wrong with you? Or is it me? Maybe he doesn't think of me as anything other than a little sister, like Ayame and Suzume. _Sigh. _That's probably it. After all, he is ten years older than me. He was sword training before I was born. But, I don't care! I'll just have to pound that into his overly hard head, that's all. He's so clueless…_

"Kaoru, hey, fancy meeting you here!" She turned as Misao plunged into the water like usual, with more fuss and noise than necessary.

"Hi, Misao, how are you?" Misao's face lit up.

"I'm great, of course. I'm here with my Aoshi-sama! But, Kaoru, if ya don't mind me saying so, you look awful…" Misao frowned. "Do ya want to tell me?"

"Do I ever!"

Kenshin stepped into the water on the men's side, leaving his trusty sakabatou at the door. Dodging Sano's attempt to dunk him, he headed for the deep end, the side nearest to the women's bath. He could hear Kaoru talking to someone awfully familiar…

"Hello, Battousai." Kenshin inhaled part of the pool as Aoshi waded over.

"H- Hello, Aoshi, demo, it's Kenshin, remember?" Kenshin spluttered, but was ignored.

"You are disturbed. You are not usually this jumpy, nor so tense. Misao and I are taking a meditation trip, in hopes to help her find her inner quiet. If you are not careful, Battousai, I will never get Misao to be quiet at all. Perhaps you should meditate with me." Sano waded over to the two other men.

"Wow, Aoshi, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say!"

"Uh, no thanks, Aoshi, sessha doesn't-"

"It might help you sort out your confusion, and your negative emotions are disturbing my meditation anyway."

"Uh…" _Yeesh, who died and made him Buddha?_ Kenshin thought privately.

"Good. We will meditate tomorrow after lunch." Then Aoshi left. Sanosuke waited until the older man was completely gone before turning to Kenshin.

"Yeesh, who died and made him Buddha?"

"And that about sums it up. I don't know if he's just dense, or if he's ignoring me."

"Wow, Himura sure is making a mess of things, isn't he?" They sat in pensive silence for a moment, and laughter could be heard on the men's side. Misao tilted her head thoughtfully.

"You know, I've always wondered what they were doing over there…" The two girls swam over. Kenshin's voice was the first they heard.

"Now, now, Sano, you should be a man and admit defeat, that you should."

"Defeat! What are ya talking about? I'm the clear winner here, Kenshin!"

"As far as size goes, mine is most definitely bigger. Yours is a good deal smaller, and it appears to be leaning…"

"Ah, no way, Kenshin, buddy, you just don't have the right angle on them. Jou-chan would definitely like mine better."

"Sorry to disagree, but Kaoru-dono must have the best, that she must." Suddenly Yahiko's voice broke in.

"Why don't you just ask Kaoru?"

"Now, now, Yahiko, it's not really that simple…"

"It was with me and Tsubame! Some jerk offered at the same time I did, but she liked mine better, so that's what she got!"

"Hey, I think Yahiko-chan's got a point."

"Oh, alright… If you're really sure, Sano…" There was a splash.

"GHAHAHAHA! Kenshin got dunked! How's that for an answer?" A spluttering noise was heard.

"Clear as crystal. Fine, then…" He raised his voice. "Kaoru-dono? Could Sano and sessha talk to you for a moment?" Kaoru blushed.

"Sure, Kenshin, can I have a moment to get into some clothes?"

"O- Of course, Kaoru-dono, there's not a real hurry, that there isn't." Kaoru waded to the shallow end with Misao following, shaking with silent giggles.

"Whooe, you may get Kenshin's answer sooner than you hoped!" Misao eyed her thoughtfully. "You know, I think you match. Your face and his hair!" Kaoru shoved Misao back into the water and donned a yukata. Kenshin and Sanosuke met her at the door, both very red-faced and holding their hands behind their backs. Kenshin stepped forward.

"K-Kaoru-dono, Sano and I have a minor discrepancy concerning you, that we do."

"What is it?" Kenshin's blush deepened a shade or two.

"W- Well, we knew you hadn't had lunch yet, so sessha bought you a lunch, that I did. Sano shuffled forward.

"And so did I." They held out two hot dogs.

(Glares around) Hentai. The world's gone hentai. They bought her LUNCH, people.

This chappie was the by product of my own wonderings… What do men do over there?

Ah, well. I digress. This is part two, so only one chapter left! Ja mata!


	3. Chapter 2: Amidst the trees

Blame it all on the moon

Chapter 2: Amidst the trees

"Hot dogs!" Misao said incredulously.

"Mm-hm. They wanted to know which one was better." Misao gave her a sly look.

"Whose did ya choose?" Kaoru giggled.

"I ate both! I was really hungry!" They laughed. Sanosuke walked up to them, quite drunk.

"Eh, wherza doccer lady? Foxy?" Kaoru blinked.

"You mean Megumi?" It was harder to understand him after that drinking contest with Kenshin. Kaoru marveled at how well that man could hold his liquor. Kenshin, that is, not Sano.

"Yeh! Me 'ead's all afuzzy and…" He passed out and toppled backward. Misao laughed and pounced on the jug he was holding. She looked inside.

"Hey, he didn't leave me any! Meanie. Ah, well, I better make sure Aoshi's not in a corner somewhere, meditating…" she walked off. 10 minutes later everyone was either asleep or passed out.

Kaoru woke some time after moonrise, cold. She stood up, and, dodging sprawled bodies, went to get a blanket. Then she noticed Kenshin was missing. Checking the rooms, the bathroom and the hot spring, Kaoru felt her heart speed up. Normally he would leave his sakabatou somewhere, to let her know he was coming back. But she couldn't find that, either. Worried, she continued looking. She heard a rattle down the hall.

"Kenshin?"

"Excuse me?" A hostess came around the corner.

"Oh. I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else…" She started to turn away.

"Red hair, really cute?" Kaoru spun back to her.

"Yes! Do you know where he went?" The girl smiled.

"Sure do. He headed out 'bout an hour ago, toward that little wood out back."

"Thank you!" Kaoru ran toward the wood.

5 minutes later, she was thoroughly lost. Sitting down to rest, she heard a series of thuds and muffled bangs. Cautiously, and as quietly as she could, she crept toward the sounds. Ahead of her, the trees gave way to a small clearing. In the middle stood Kenshin, breathing hard and topless. A quick glance around let her see his discarded gi dropped under a nearby tree, but that was all that was in the clearing.

_What is he doing?_ She wondered.

Suddenly Kenshin leapt in the air and performed a Ryu Tsui Sen. She watched him pull the blow, and his sakabatou fell into a tiny notch in the tree's branch she hadn't noticed before. Looking around more carefully, she saw marks for the Ryu Kan Sen, Do Ryu Sen, So Ryu Sen, Ryu Sho Sen, and a fat tree with nine marks for the Kuzu Ryu Sen. She turned back to Kenshin, who was examining the mark, muttering to himself. Kaoru couldn't help but notice the sprawling pattern of scars across his finely muscled torso. Kenshin shook his head in disgust. Kaoru scooted closer to hear his mutterings.

"Stupid, Kenshin, stupid. How many times did Shishou tell you to watch your backswing? A thousand? He'd have your head on a platter if you did that in a practice session. You'd be chopping firewood 'til sundown, at the very least. Ah, well, two more and then I head back. Kaoru-dono might have noticed me gone…"

Kaoru smiled, satisfied, and turned to go.

SNAP

It felt so good to be practicing again. It always helped him to clear his mind. Breathing hard, sweating, he was preparing for his final run when a twig snapped behind him, to loud to have been an animal. Instantly he pivoted, hand on his sword hilt. His eyes narrowed.

"You might as well come out. Resistance would be futile." He stated, eyes never leaving the bush. It seemed he would finish his practice with a battle. He tensed as the figure stood, then stepped into the light.

Kaoru was shocked at how fast Kenshin changed. Hesitant, she stepped into the moonlight. Kenshin's eyes widened and his hand dropped from his sword.

"Kaoru-dono! What are you doing here? You were asleep when sessha left…Sessha didn't wake you, did I?" Kaoru smiled at the chagrin on his face.

"No, I got up a bit ago and was worried when I didn't see you." Kenshin stepped around her and retrieved his gi.

"Sessha is sorry to have worried you, Kaoru-dono."

"Oh, don't, it's- " A rooster crowed. "Eep! It's morning!"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the resort again. Blushing a bit, he let himself be led, not even having time to put his gi back on. As they cleared the forest and their friends made sly comments that made Kaoru turn red, he looked at their hands, still entwined, and at the setting moon.

_Maybe the full moon isn't so bad after all…_


End file.
